The caged bird and the uncaged bird

Dedication

Dedicated in memory of my brother Chitta

1

```

The caged bird

Is crying for freedom.

The uncaged bird

Is striving for peace. ```

2

```

My Lord,

Your Love has entrapped my eyes

My heart, my life and my all.

May I be allowed to entrap

The hallowed dust of Your Feet?

```

3

```

There goes my Beloved, my sweet Lord,

The anklets ringing on His Feet.

I hear the music of His Flute

Vibrating through the horizons.

If ever my cowherd boy should cast a glance

Behind Him, still He only goes forward.

Let my eyes follow the track

My Beloved treads.

In the twilight hour of the day,

With a sweet and serene smile,

Leading the herds of varied light,

My cowherd boy goes. ```

4. O my Lord of Beauty

```

You are beautiful, more beautiful, most beautiful,

Beauty unparalleled in the Garden of Eden.

Day and night may Thy Image abide

In the very depth of my heart.

Without You, my eyes have no vision —

Everything is an illusion, everything is barren.

All around me, within and without,

The melody of tenebrous pangs I hear.

My world is filled with excruciating pangs.

O Lord, O my beautiful Lord,

O my Lord of Beauty,

In this lifetime, even for a fleeting second,

May I be blessed with the boon

To see Thy Face. ```

5

```

My Lord Supreme,

Although You are unknown to my heart,

My heart loves You only.

Although You are unknowable to my mind,

My mind is searching for You only.

```

6. O Bird of Light

```

One thought, one tune, one resonance —

Who calls me ever and anon?

I know not where I am.

I know not whither I shall go.

In dark amnesia

Myself I buy, myself I sell.

All I break, again all I build.

All I hope to be mine, mine alone.

Alas, my heart is eclipsed

By dark and wild destruction-night.

O Bird of Light, O Bird of Light,

With your glowing and flowing flames

Do enter into my heart once again.

You are calling me to climb up

And fly into the blue.

But how can I?

My heart is in prison

In the strangled breath of a tiny room.

O Bird of Light, O Bird of Light,

O Bird of Light Supreme,

In me, I pray, keep not an iota of gloom.

```

7. Between Nothingness and Eternity

```

Barren of events,

Rich in pretensions

My earthly life.

Obscurity

My real name.

Wholly unto myself

I exist.

I wrap no soul

In my embrace.

No mentor worthy

Of my calibre

Have I.

I am all alone

Between failure

And frustration.

I am the red thread

Between Nothingness

And Eternity.

```

8

```

Sailing the boat of silver light,

The moon-beauty is fast approaching me.

The sky is vibrating with sweet and melodious songs.

The birds are flying beyond the horizon

To an unknown land.

All my hopes are flying without any destination.

Slowly my life’s evening sets in.

```

9. Tune me for life

```

O Master Musician,

Tune me for life again.

The awakening of new music

My heart wants to become.

My life is now mingled

In ecstasy’s height. ```

10. Be Thou

```

Be Thou my body

That I may wake.

Be Thou my vital

That I may run.

Be Thou my mind

That I may fly.

Be Thou my heart

That I may dive.

Be Thou my soul

That I may reveal.

Be Thou my Goal

That I may fulfil.

Be Thou my All

That I may only be Yours. ```

11. A sweet longing

```

A sweet longing have I

For the mainland of Reality.

No more shall I live a life

Founded upon culled fictions.

Splintered, broken and smashed

Realities of life no more can torture

My intrepid heart.

From now on in my mind

Only God-Reality will blossom,

In my heart

Only God-Love will grow,

In my life

Only God-Embrace will glow.

```

12. The Goal is won

```

Your days of orphan-sorrows

Are behind you

And

Not beside you.

Why, then, do you

Helplessly cry?

Your days of excellence-joys

Are ahead of you

And

Not beside you.

Why, then, do you not

Immediately run and declare:

“THE GOAL IS WON”?

```

13

```

Man's eternal question is:

“Who is God?”

God's immediate Answer is:

“My child, who else is God,

If not you?”

```

14. The answer

```

Wait and see.

The temporary emptiness

Of not discovering

The answers of life

Cannot last,

For the Answer itself

Is blossoming

Petal by petal

For you.

```

15. Visions of the emerald Beyond

```

No more am I the foolish customer

Of a dry, sterile, intellectual breeze.

I shall buy only

The weaving visions of the emerald Beyond.

My heart-tapestry

Shall capture the Himalayan Smiles

Of my Pilot Supreme.

In the burial of my deceased mind,

In the revival of my climbing heart

Is the festival of my all-embracing life. ```

16

```

No no, no!

I no longer exist.

What exists is only a fragile shadow.

And that, too, has lost its existence-life

In a golden lightning spark.

```

17

```

My Absolute Lord Supreme,

This morning

When my heart caught You

In Your Vision-blossoming

Playful mood,

You immediately gave me back

My Eternity’s childhood

To smile at You soulfully,

To play with You sleeplessly

And to dance with You

Breathlessly.

```

18

```

My heart

Is one of my homes,

But my heart’s only Home

Is God. ```

19. An iota of gratitude

```

The seeker’s offering

Of an iota of gratitude to God

Is as beautiful as a rose

Held by God in His own Hand. ```

20. I know whose I am

```

True,

I do not know

Who I am,

But I do know

Whose I am.

```

21. I sing, I smile

```

I sing because You sing.

I smile because You smile.

Because You play on the flute,

I have become Your flute.

You play in the depths of my heart.

You are mine, I am Yours:

This is my sole identification.

In one Form

You are my Mother and Father eternal,

And Consciousness-moon,

Consciousness-sun, all-pervading.

```

22

```

My Lord,

Your morning Smile

Is my breath

During the entire day. ```

23. Beauty came to me

```

Beauty came to me

Like the morning rose.

Duty came to me

Like the morning sun.

Divinity came to me

Like the morning aspiration. ```

24

```

Science assails.

Nature prevails. ```

25

```

Science is God-oblivion.

Nature is the living God. ```

26

```

Today

I gave God my only possession:

A teardrop.

God said, “My child,

Here is your easiest entry

Into My own highest Heaven.” ```

27

```

My evening descends,

And my heart-tears for God

Fall like ecstasy-rain.

```

28. Oh, when my sadness is sweet

```

Oh, when my sadness is sweet,

I see God’s Compassion-Feet.

Oh, when my gladness is pure,

I see God’s Illumination-Eye. ```

29

```

My Lord,

I know what I offer You

Is always small, very small,

Yet Your Heart overflows

With Nectar-Delight.

I am prepared

To come into the world

Again and again

Only to fathom Your Love

Unfathomable. ```

30. One thing haunts me

```

My heart is burdened with many things,

But one thing haunts me

At each hush-gap,

And that is the mountain-burden

Of world-sorrow.

```

31

```

My Lord,

I shall not give You

My heart’s harrowing pain.

I shall give You only

My heart’s ever-blossoming smiles.

```

32

```

O let my heart sow!

Let others’ lives reap! ```

33

```

My morning begins,

And I immediately start flying

With God’s universal Oneness-Kite.

```

34

```

O seekers of the past,

O seekers of the present,

O seekers of the future,

You have only one thing

To accomplish:

Please, please do not allow doubts

To invade

This beautiful earth of ours! ```

35

```

A doubting mind

Is always in transit

To nowhere.

```

36

```

Without faith,

A man is like

A waterless cloud.

```

37

```

Do not stop dreaming!

One day your world-peace-dream

Will inundate the entire world.

```

38

```

Power is

Man’s sweet dream-slayer.

Love is

Man’s sweet dream-fulfiller. ```

39. Ecstasy

```

What is peace?

Fulfilment-ecstasy.

What is light?

Truth-ecstasy.

What is delight?

Love-ecstasy.

What is perfection?

God-ecstasy. ```

40. A moment's truth

```

A moment’s truth

Can and shall make the world beautiful.

A moment's peace

Can and shall save the world.

A moment's love

Can and shall make the world perfect. ```

41

```

If you are pursuing perfection,

Then patience has to be

Your only luminous companion.

```

42

```

Alas,

Perfection has no entry visa

To this world of chaos.

```

43

```

Whatever appears to leave us

Actually does not leave us.

Whatever appears to stay with us

Actually does not stay.

Everything is a mystery

Of constant gain and loss. ```

44

```

Man's outer life

Is a fading experience.

Man’s inner life

Is an ever-heightening

And ever-deepening realisation.

```

45

```

Because of power's supremacy,

Our world is heavy

With evening sighs.

Because of love’s intimacy,

Our world is soulful

With morning songs.

```

46

```

Science says,

“God, I can live

Without You.”

Nature says,

“My Lord, I cannot breathe

Without You.”

```

47

```

In vain

God has been looking

For millennia

For His Vision-partner. ```

48. Beyond the sunrise-sky

```

Sail

Beyond the sunrise-sky.

Reach

The Pinnacle-Goal

Before the sunset-cry.

```

49

```

The sky calls me.

The wind calls me.

The moon and stars call me.

The green and dense groves call me.

The dance of the fountain calls me.

Smiles call me, tears call me.

A faint melody calls me.

The morn, noon and eve call me.

Everyone is searching for a playmate.

Everyone is calling, “Come, come!”

One voice, one sound, all around.

Alas, the Boat of Time sails on. ```

50

```

O Time,

The great devourer,

Do come and devour

My heart-sorrows. ```

51

```

There is only one sentence

In God's entire Autobiography:

“The galaxy of stars

And the darkest night

Are inseparably one.”

```

52

```

The day is fast approaching

When the hope-caravan of the seekers

Shall successfully and gloriously

Pass through the frustration-desert. ```

53

```

Only after your God-realisation

Will you be able to know

Whence you came

And whither you go. ```

54

```

Though I do not know

Where this next step leads,

I do know

An unseen Hand

Will guide me blessingfully

To my destination. ```

55

```

I go out

To watch my mind’s exploration.

I come in

To sing my heart's invocation. ```

56

```

The mind that does not search

For God's Light

Eventually is left with only the debris

Of scattered thoughts. ```

57

```

O my heart,

You are desperately trying

To discipline my mind.

Do you not know

That it is as useless

As trying to tame the wind? ```

58

```

The heart-lamb

Is so adorable.

The mind-horse is, alas,

Always ungovernable. ```

59

```

My Lord Supreme,

If You really love me,

Then kidnap my heart

Here and now! ```

60. I shall listen

```

I shall listen to Your Command, I shall.

In Your Sky I shall fly, I shall fly.

Eternally You are mine, my very own.

You are my heart's wealth.

For You at night in tears I shall cry.

For You at dawn with light I shall smile.

For You, for You, Beloved, only for You.

```

61

```

My beautiful meditation-birds

Fly before me

Before dawn arrives.

```

62

```

My evening descends

To teach me

How to hear in silence

The heartbeat of the vastness-world. ```

63

```

We must learn once more

That human life

Is the melody of a universal song.

```

64. Music

```

O music of love,

From you I learn

The secret of closeness.

O music of will,

From you I learn

The secret of future creation.

O music of silence,

From you I learn

The secret of universal oneness.

O music of surrender,

From you I learn

The secret of cosmic perfection.

```

65

```

My Mother India,

When I think of myself as an Indian

And take pride in my Indian birth,

I immediately start soaring

Upon the melodies and cadences

Of your love. ```

66

```

India is not just a place.

India is not just a people.

India is the celestial music,

And inside that music

Anybody from any corner of the globe

Can find the real significance of life. ```

67

```

My Mother India,

No matter where I am physically,

I most devotedly long

To keep my God-seeker-life

In the foothills

Of your heart’s Himalayas. ```

68. Centuries have rolled away

```

Centuries have rolled away,

And still the outer man does not know

Where the inner man

Unmistakably is,

And the inner man does not know

What the outer man

Actually wants.

```

69. My soul-fire

```

My soul-fire,

Where can I find you, where?

My ignorance-mire,

When can I transform you, when? ```

70

```

No mind can come

To God’s Country

Without crossing

God's Silence-Bridge. ```

71. I saw in his eyes

```

He slept in silence.

I saw in his closed eyes

The Peace of God.

He woke up in silence.

I saw in his blossomed eyes

The Joy of God.

He walked in silence.

I saw in his glowing eyes

The Light of God.

He ran in silence.

I saw in his ambrosial eyes

The Life of God.

```

72. God came down

```

I went up

To see God’s beautiful Feet.

God came down

To give me His bountiful Heart. ```

73. Only one hope

```

Break asunder all my hopes.

Only keep one hope,

And that hope is to learn

The language of Your inner Silence

In my utter, unconditional surrender.

In Your clear and free Sky

I shall be calm and perfect.

The bird of my heart is dancing today

In the festival of supernal Light.

```

74

```

My Lord,

Now that my love for You

Is strong once more,

And my faith in You

Is strong once more,

I have decided to address

All my petitions and supplications

To Your Lotus-Feet once more. ```

75

```

O my life’s wailing wings of sorrow,

God's fast-descending Compassion-Feet

Will soon console you.

```

76. Your holy steps

```

Your holy steps

Have saved my fettered life.

Your holy steps

Have released my encaged soul. ```

77

```

God, I tremble

At Your Greatness.

God, I marvel

At Your Goodness. ```

78

```

Power conquers.

Love wins. ```

79. God the Lover

```

We pray to God the Power,

But God the Lover

Answers our prayers.

```

80. Two things absolutely unparalleled

```

My Master Lord Supreme,

I love You, I love You only

Because You have given me

Two things absolutely unparalleled:

The map

For the eternal journey

And the courage

For the immortal travelling. ```

81

```

Life’s perfection-road

Is very long,

But the journey is richly rewarding.

```

82. While walking

```

While walking along

The avenue of my aspiration-heart,

What do I do?

I harvest my heart’s sunlight.

How?

Slowly, steadily and selflessly. ```

83

```

My evening descends,

And I most affectionately offer my evening

My day's success-joys

And failure-sorrows. ```

84

```

Each aspiring life

Is a prolonged

And extensive Dream

Of God. ```

85

```

My Lord,

Every word You say

Melts my aspiration-heart.

“My child,

Every promise you make

Enlarges My Cosmic Vision.

```

86

```

If only one man

Can satisfy God unconditionally,

Then he expedites humanity’s evolution.

```

87

```

Alas, a very limited time

Is granted to the mighty souls

To perform the mightiest

God-manifestation-tasks

On earth.

```

88

```

So simple a thing as love divine,

Alas, nobody wants.

So sweet a thing as oneness perfect,

Alas, nobody needs. ```

89. A tree without roots

```

Life without love

Is a flower

Without fragrance.

Love without oneness

Is a fruit

Without taste.

Oneness without God

Is a tree

Without roots.

```

90

```

Only one flag

Flies above all the rest:

The flag of universal oneness.

```

91

```

I wish to be

A perpetual student

Of the world-unity-university.

```

92

```

The mind

Is a world-peace-stranger

And

A world-peace-strangler. ```

93

```

God wants

Each and every aspiring heart

To be a universal peace-shrine.

```

94

```

When the age of reason ends,

The heart of peace

Will inundate the entire world.

```

95

```

This is the era of peace-freedom-lovers

And not of world-renunciation-cave-dwellers. ```

96

```

My morning begins

And I am immediately embraced

By world-peace-dreamers

And world-happiness-lovers. ```

97

```

My evening descends,

And I see and feel

That even the very dust

Of my evening-world

Is full of celestial bliss.

```

98

```

Beauty non-pareil has blossomed

In the heart of

The subtle atom-tapestry.

```

99

```

I love, I love, I love.

I love the silver process of seeing.

I love the golden progress of the seen.

I love the diamond fulness of the Seer. ```

100. The garden of love-light

```

In the garden of love-light,

In silence-dream,

O Beauty Eternal!

This heart of mine is in Your Embrace. ```

101. My supreme moment

```

This is my day;

I love it.

This is my morning God-Hour,

I need it.

This is my supreme moment,

I am it. ```

102

```

Let my mind

Be as old as the world itself,

But I want my heart

To be as young as a bud. ```

103

```

Each child

Is a new wonder.

Each child

Is a new discoverer.

Each child

Is an ever-new dawn-harbinger. ```

104. A feeble cry, a sweet smile

```

A little ripple

Wakes the sea.

A tiny thought

Shakes the world.

A feeble cry

Brings the Supreme.

A sweet smile

Fulfils the Supreme. ```

105

```

My Lord,

I beg of You to give me

The capacity to ceaselessly cry

At Your Lotus-Feet

Until all my voice is lost.

```

106

```

Man says to God,

“My Lord,

Please, please deepen Your Love

For me.”

God says to man,

“My child,

Please, please ripen your need

For Me.” ```

107

```

My Lord,

Each time I come near You,

You just run away.

Why, why, my Lord?

“My child,

Just to increase your heart-hunger

In measureless measure.”

```

108

```

The loveliness of your face

Comes from the God-nearness

Of your heart.

```

109

```

My morning begins

With a special Message from God:

“Each second is a golden opportunity

To fly to the Beyond.” ```

110

```

My evening descends

To feed me

With the Silence-Bliss

Of God's Footfalls. ```

111. In my heart-dawn and soul-sun

```

I loved my life’s morning walks.

Hope-beauty led my eyes and guided my steps.

I love my life’s midday runs.

Reality’s naked life

Has sent uncertainty into destruction-exile.

I shall love my life’s evening stumblings.

Life divine shall embrace the abyss of science.

Evening does not mark the end.

Evening is the precursor of a purer dawn

And a brighter sun.

In my heart-dawn, my preparation shall begin.

In my soul-sun, my perfection shall bloom. ```

112

```

Science is desperately searching

For the cosmic key.

Nature already has it.

```

113. The inner problem

```

All the world’s dire problems

Can be solved only when

The inner problem is solved.

What is the inner problem?

The inner problem is:

Who am I? ```

114. O pilgrim-soul

```

O pilgrim-soul,

Divinity

Is in your untiring feet.

O pilgrim-soul,

Infinity

Is in your unblinking eyes.

O pilgrim-soul,

Eternity

Is in your unbending head.

O pilgrim-soul,

Immortality

Is in your unthinking heart.

```

115

```

Blow your readiness-conch

On your way

To God's Palace.

Play your willingness-violin

On your way

To God’s Palace.

Play your eagerness-flute

On your way

To God's Palace.

```

116

```

Arise in the morning,

Proclaiming

The Victory of God

Inside the body

Of humanity.

Smile in the evening,

Proclaiming

The Victory of God

Inside the breath

Of humanity.

```

117

```

My morning begins

With a soulful salutation

To world-harmony-lovers.

```

118. Each song is a flame

```

Each soulful song is a flame

In the aspiring heart.

Where is that heart?

It is in the supreme art

Of constant self-giving.

```

119

```

Each God-manifestation-dreamer

On earth

Is a supreme herald

Of a new age. ```

120

```

The fast-approaching 21st century

Will establish the fragrance

Of the soul-music

And banish the thunderstorm-music

Of the vital.

```

121

```

When my Lord plays upon my life-flute,

He gives me the boundless capacity

To walk along His royal Road

To reach His Immortality’s Heart-Kingdom. ```

122

```

Today

I shall make a widespread search,

Just to have a glimpse of God.

```

123. Unless you believe

```

Unless you believe in the unknown,

How can you eventually

Successfully grow into the Unknowable?

```

124

```

I go out

To enjoy my mind's sound-adventure.

I come in

To enjoy my heart’s peace-pilgrimage. ```

125

```

My mind wants to become

A peace-ambassador.

My heart wants to become

A peace-student.

My life wants to become

A peace-servant. ```

126

```

Our minds must kneel

In order to rise.

Our hearts must dream

In order to fly. ```

127

```

A man may be

Ordinary,

But his dreams can be

Extraordinary. ```

128

```

My evening descends

To help me breathe the fragrance

Of a new dream-world.

```

129

```

When I go out,

I unmistakably see that there are many realities

That I have not even touched.

When I come in,

I clearly see that God has myriad Dreams

That He has not yet manifested.

```

130

```

The deplorable fate of humanity

Is that it is apt to bathe

In a sea of unfulfilled promises.

```

131

```

Millennia have come and gone,

But humanity still takes

Infant-steps

On the road to its God-Destination. ```

132. One question remains

```

One question

Remained,

Remains,

And will always remain

Unanswered:

Who is not God? ```

133

```

A life that does not aspire

Is, indeed, a failure-life

That returns again and again

Through Eternity’s revolving door. ```

134. Ecstasy's unmeasured skies

```

If you have an aspiration-flight,

In the long run

You are bound to reach

Ecstasy’s unmeasured skies. ```

135. O voyageur of time

```

O voyager of time,

Onward you proceed

And offer to the world

Your achievement-light.

Much have you to discover,

Much have you to offer,

O voyager of time.

```

136

```

Each individual

Is a runner along Eternity’s Road,

Passing on

The inspiration-torch of life. ```

137

```

My morning begins

With a pilgrim-heart-journey

Towards the Unknowable.

```

138

```

My prayer

Is my life’s anchor.

My meditation

Is my life’s compass. ```

139

```

When I meditate,

I see a peace-bird

Folding its wings

Over my heart-nest. ```

140

```

My Lord,

I have come to realise

That my mind-palace

Has no peace.

Could You suggest

Another place?

“My child,

Yes, I can:

Your heart-cottage.”

```

141

```

A heart of silence

Is the perfect answer

To my mind's volley of questions.

```

142

```

Doubt rightly deserves

To be

A homeless beggar.

```

143

```

Each heart

Has to be brave

To cross the scorching desert

Of the mind. ```

144

```

What the world needs from you

Is your heart’s abiding faith

And not

Your mind’s towering philosophy. ```

145

```

Be not enamoured

Of what you see outwardly.

Be not indifferent

To what you feel inwardly. ```

146

```

God's Heart

Knows how to whisper.

Man’s mind

Knows how to whimper. ```

147. An old disease

```

Doubt is an old disease.

Faith is an old medicine.

Compassion is an old doctor.

Concern is an old nurse. ```

148

```

There is no stormy day

In human life

That cannot be transformed

Into the brightest sunrise. ```

149. The message of surrender

```

Today You have given me

The message of surrender.

I have offered to You

My very flower-heart.

In the dark night with tears,

In the unknown prison-cell of illusion,

In the house of the finite,

No longer shall I abide.

I know You are mine.

I have known this, Mother,

O Queen of the Eternal.

```

150

```

Today my joy

Knows no bounds,

For I am seeing the ashes

Of my mind-edifice. ```

151

```

There is a sempiternal bond

Between

My nothingness

And

God’s Fulness.

```

152

```

Two most precious lifelong experiences

Are engraved on my heart:

I am not indispensable

And

My Lord Supreme is unconditional.

```

153

```

Gratitude and surrender

Are two transient visitors

To this earth-planet.

```

154

```

A gratitude-heart

Is the master key

That opens up all the rooms

Of God’s Heart-Palace. ```

155

```

My Lord Beloved Supreme,

I am not praying to You

To give me what You have

And what You are.

I am praying to You

To take what I have

And what I am.

```

156

```

Today

I clearly see

That if I want to make

The fastest progress in my life,

Then nothing is trivial

And nothing is unimportant. ```

157

```

The moment I say and feel

That I am an eternal beginner,

I become the possessor

Of boundless joy. ```

158

```

Each new day beckons you

To walk on the road

Of self-transcendence.

```

159

```

My Lord,

Sorrows attend my eyes

And tears attend my heart

When I fail to be intoxicated

By Your outer Beauty

And Your inner Fragrance. ```

160

```

God’s Greatness,

You are my hope-excellence.

God's Goodness,

You are my promise-radiance. ```

161

```

God's first Smile was born

The day humanity awoke

To His Light.

```

162

```

God has a habit of repeating Himself

So that nobody remains

With His Philosophy unlearned.

```

163

```

Each blossoming century

Begins with a new Hope

From God’s Heart

And a new Promise

From God's Eye.

```

164

```

Humanity’s

Pilgrim-sunrise-days

Will never be over.

```

165

```

My morning begins

With a most beautiful Present

From my Lord Beloved Supreme.

What is the Present?

A huge love-tree

To shelter many, many God-crying hearts. ```

166

```

My Lord, do give me the capacity

To wipe every tear

From every heart.

```

167

```

Heaven showers its bliss-petals

On those who sleeplessly

Love God.

```

168. A time for everything

```

Morning is the time

For my loving heart

To feed my child-God.

Evening is the time

For my loving heart

To dance with my Beloved-God.

Night is the time

For my loving heart

To confide in my partner-God.

```

169

```

My Lord Supreme,

Come, come today.

I have reserved a special seat for You.

Please come and take Your seat. ```

170

```

What I wanted

Was a flicker of hope.

But my Lord came

And stood before me

To give me

His Infinity's All. ```

171. Your love-play is my world

```

In secrecy supreme I see You.

You live in my eyes, in my sleep,

In my dreams, in my sweet wakefulness.

In the stupendous mirth of life,

In the abysmal lap of death,

You I behold.

Your Love-Play is my world.

```

172

```

He met his long-forgotten Friend,

God,

Deep in the embrace of peace.

```

173

```

Wherever he goes

His heart carries for him

A thousand prayer-flowers.

```

174. The hero marches along

```

He who has loved this world

Has only got excruciating pangs.

The world has thrown on him

All ugliness, filth, dirt and impurity.

Yet the hero marches along,

Carrying the burden of the entire world.

At the end of his teeming struggles

He will go and stand at the Feet

Of his Lord Supreme.

```

175

```

To God,

I gave my very best.

To me,

His All He gave. ```

176

```

God's final words of advice to me:

“On you march,

On you march,

On you march, My child.” ```

177. O my Boatman

```

O my Boat, O my Boatman,

O message of Transcendental Delight,

Carry me.

My heart is thirsty and hungry,

And it is fast asleep at the same time.

Carry my heart to the other shore.

The dance of death I see all around.

The thunder of destruction indomitable I hear.

O my Inner Pilot, You are mine,

You are the Ocean of Compassion infinite.

In You I lose myself,

My all in You I lose. ```

178. Allow me not to forget You

```

Lord, allow me not to forget You.

If ever I forget You,

Do torture my heart ruthlessly.

If excruciating pangs shall compel me

To forget You,

Do awaken me with Your infinite Compassion.

My Lord,

If ever the sleep of death attacks me,

Do come and protect me.

Do remain inside my sleeping heart.

I have not asked You for anything

Meaningful and fruitful.

Do allow me not to forget You.

```

179. The pilgrims of the Lord Supreme

```

We are the pilgrims of the Lord Supreme

On the Path of Infinity.

At this time we have broken asunder

Obstruction’s door.

We have broken asunder

The night of tenebrous darkness, inconscience

And the eternal, indomitable fear of death.

The Boat of the supernal Light’s dawn

Is beckoning us,

And the World-Pilot

Of the hallowed bond of Love divine

Is beckoning us.

The Liberator’s Hands are drawing us

To the Ocean of the great Unknown.

Having conquered the life-breath

Of the Land of Immortality,

And carrying aloft the Banner

Of the Lord Supreme,

We shall return —

We, the drops and flames

Of transformation-light.

```

180

```

My Lord,

Your morning Smile

Is my breath

During the entire day. ```

Editor's note

The poems in this volume were selected by the poet himself. They span the years from 1971 to 1998 and have been gathered from the poet's following published works:

My Lord’s Secrets Revealed (1971)

My Flute (1972)

The Garden of Love-Light (1973)

The Dance of Life (1973)

The Wings of Light (1974)

The Goal Is Won (1974)

Europe-Blossoms (1974)

Supreme, Teach Me How to Cry (1974)

Supreme, Teach Me How to Surrender (1975)

Transcendence-Perfection (1975)

Illumination-Song and Liberation-Dance (1976)

Ten Thousand Flower-Flames (1979-83)

My Fifty Gratitude-Summers (1981)

I Am Ready (1982)

Twenty-Seven Thousand Aspiration-Plants (1983-98)

I Pray Before I Lift (1986)

O My Heart (1988)

I Am My Life’s God-Hunger-Heart (1994)

My Lord, I Pray to You (1994)

Immensity-Peace-Sea-Experiences (1995)

Power and Love (1996)

Today (1996)

My Morning Begins (1996)

My Evening Descends (1996)

Two God-Amusement-Rivals (1996)

Science and Nature (1996)

Mother India (1997)

I Go Out, Come In (1997)

God’s Greatness and God’s Goodness (1998)

I Am Flying and Flying and Flying (1998)

My Lord’s Lotus-Feet Versus My Devotion-Heart

(1998)

Retirement Not Granted (1998)

Eso Eso Prabhu (1998)

Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees (1998)

From:Sri Chinmoy,The caged bird and the uncaged bird, Agni Press, 1998
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/cbu